
42
January 29
The Resurrection and the Life
In
a world where death always has the final word, at least for now, what
great hope is found in these verses? Luke 7:11–17, Mark 5:21–43,
John 11:37–44.
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Politicians, entertainers, and athletes must necessarily offer some-
thing to generate a following. Politicians utilize hypnotic rhetoric and
incredible promises. Entertainers use their abilities to generate emotion
and audience identification. Athletes amaze throngs with their physical
skills. Envious onlookers follow, wishing they possessed such prowess.
What does Jesus offer? Reduced unemployment? Fatter paychecks?
Amazing ball-handling skills? Incredible vocal range? Tear-jerking
performances? Instead, Jesus offers something no one else in the world
can: eternal life in a new world. In contrast to that, what else matters?
While television shopping networks insult our intelligence with their
too-good-to-be-true offers, Jesus seemingly exceeds their excesses with
His deal of a lifetime: eternal life priced for nothing with absolutely no
shipping and handling charges! Skeptics would doubtless scoff about
such an unprecedented offer. Competitors would manufacture cheap
imitations (such as Satan’s immortal-soul concept). Potential buy-
ers would cautiously investigate the claims. So, Jesus provided three
known demonstrations to counter the skeptics, expose imitations, and
satisfy genuine seekers. Jairus’s daughter, the widow’s son, and, finally,
Lazarus proved that this too-good-to-be-true offer was authentic.
Disease and accidents might initially prevail, but eternal life would ulti-
mately conquer. Healing would not happen every time it was requested,
but everlasting life was guaranteed to all who made Jesus their Savior.
It’s the same with us today. As we know, many times the healing we
want just simply does not come in the way that we want it. People lin-
ger, even for years, from debilitating and painful diseases that, far from
being healed, sometimes get worse. Others die from disease, despite
anointing and prayer. We have no answers as to why, in some cases,
healing comes now, and in others it doesn’t.
What we do have, though, is something so much better than even
a miraculous healing, and that is the promise of the resurrection to
eternal life at the end of the age, when Jesus will come and “the saints
of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom
forever, even forever and ever” (Dan. 7:18, NKJV).
Why is this promise—the promise of eternal life—so crucial and
so important to us? Where would we be without it? What hope
would you have for anything, anything at all, without it?
Wednesday